Seasonal Cycles and Pain Management

Its late October, in fact, it is almost Halloween. On my street there are pumpkins on the porches and the leaves of red and yellow lie underneath half bare maple trees, the sky is turning dark by 6:30, and when they leave home in the early morning, my neighbours are donning their hats and their gloves .

For friends with fibromayagia, the onset of colder weather can mean an increase in pain levels and stiffness. Fibro people may also suffer from SAD, or from their normal ongoing reality of "stage-four deprived sleep. Either reality can produce sad and depressive mental and emotional states, as seratonin in their brains wanes.

Each year at this time I feel like giving up on life and then I remember! I feel this way every year beginning sometime between late September, mid October--it's seasonal and its cyclical. It took me a few years before I identified the patterns associated with climate change, but as many fibroites can testify, season changes in symptoms are a fact of life. Seasonal changes should also be a factor in your pain managment plan.

Plan for more time to get from place to place, put aside monthly more money for gas, or if you've stop driving because of fibromyalgia, for taxis or public transportation. Don't be afraid to say no or to say maybe.

Tell friends. Be up front when you accept an invitation. Inform your hosts of your condition and let them know that attending may depend on obtaining transportation to and from, and the weather outside. If the weather suddenly turns cold and you're writhing in pain on your couch covered in hot packs, call them and let them know you are experiencing a flare-up and you would like a rain check.

Be careful: avoid isolation, because you feel you can't perform on the same level as others. Its true! You will perform in a different way than your able-bodied friends, but the best antidote for depression is to stay physically active and maintain your social connections. Here are a few suggestions to stay in touch with other people in the difficult winter months. Invite your friends to come over with minimal effort and fuss. Have a movie and popcorn or if it is the night and must include dinner, order out or heat up a store bought chicken pie and serve with store bought field greens or play pot luck and take it easy. Remember, don't make your illness the evening's topic. Ask your guests questions and listen to their answers and comment.Interest is a wonderful distraction from pain.

For the long winter season, plan regular achievable exercise either indoors or close to home. Another idea is to plan a winter exercise program at your home with friends. Invite two or three neighbours to come weekly to your home to practice yoga with an instructional DVD. For outdoor work, rake the leaves, but set the timer for 20 minutes and leave when it goes off so you are not in excruciating pain the next day from working too long. When you need rest, take it and drink plenty of water.

When you feel low, just put a chair and a blanket on the porch and enjoy the sun and fall colours. The key is to not only to pace yourself but to keep going, even if you are taking baby steps.